Who Needs Disney Land?

When you have a BIG GUCK?

We have an active debate brewing over who loves our truck the most, Kevin or Isaac.

Isaac asks, "Where's the big guck?" at least twenty times a day, not exaggerating!

"It's a big guck."

I had a moment where it occurred to me... "you might be a redneck if ..... your truck bed doubles as a play pen."

"Isaac, are you having fun?" (I ask the obvious question).

"It's a big guck!" is his reply.

He must have been catching his breath. This is the first time he stood still!

"It just doesn't get any better than this." He silently thinks to himself...

...or could it? ...

(Now, relax. It looks like we were driving fast, but really we were going 5 mph.)

Truly, it's the simple things in life that bring so much happiness. I love my family!

"I obey oh I mynu!"

Spankings are called “reminders” in our house. And we have started using “reminders” as a form of discipline only when needed. It has been a good tool, and Isaac has responded well to it. He is a very smart boy and has always been a quick learner, so it hasn’t taken long for him to catch on. More often than not, all he needs is a warning.

Coupled with reminders, we have been teaching him the word “obey” and what that means. He is connecting the dots and growing a respect and listening ear, and it’s so exciting to watch him develop an obedient spirit.

So it was funny when he announced, “I obey oh I mynu!” (“I obey or I get a reminder!”). Haha, and now he even lets us know when he needs a "mynu!"

“Anku, Mommy.”

Isaac downed the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, a kernel of corn, yogurt, strawberries, and a cookie! And as he ate, he waved at every bite and said, “bye-bye” before stuffing it into his mouth. He had me laughing, so of course he kept it up.

He seemed to enjoy that meal so much, that as I wiped him up, I asked him, “Was that good?” And he said, “YEAH!” So I said, “Say, ‘thank you, Mommy.’”

With the sweetest smile, he looked up at me with his big blue eyes and said, “Anku, Mommy.”

19 Months - What a Blur!

These days are characterized by an ever-expanding vocabulary, all four eye teeth arriving at once, impressive new climbing skills, and maddening temper tantrums.

such a little ham, he keeps us laughing

We went to his 18-mo appointment yesterday (yes, a month late but oh well.) The report is that Isaac is basically the size of an average 27-month-old! He's in the 100th percentile for height at 35.8 inches tall, in the 50th percentile for weight at 27.8 pounds, and the 75th percentile for his head. He's perfectly healthy and has a strong will and a great set of lungs on him. (I think everyone in the office figured that out as soon as we started stripping him down for the stats.)

In the world of words, Isaac is a virtual parrot these days, repeating us, putting together phrases of his own, and actually responding to questions. Such a smarty-pants! And this wonderful world of verbal communication is AWESOME. I'm just hoping that the screaming fits die down as he continues to figure out that he gets better results when he tells us what he wants by using words rather than VOLUME.

he has so many facial expressions to display his mood

In the world of climbing, Isaac is getting very adventurous. The time when he was frightened to step from the sidewalk to the grass are long gone! Now he's on to climbing up into his high chair and onto the table... as I discovered a couple of Saturdays ago when I turned around with Isaac's lunch to find him sitting in his high chair all by himself. "When did you learn to do that?" I asked him with surprise. Isaac responded with a wide grin of satisfaction in his newfound skill.

and 100% boy

Love Love Love

On Valentine's Day we had a sweet dessert date by candlelight after we got the squirt down to bed.... mmmm, yummy butterscotch and chocolate cookie cake. It turned out to be more like a torte, and it was delicious!

This year Kevin and I talked about making a new family tradition for Valentine's Day by having a family picnic... we think it would be the perfect opportunity to focus our family on God's incredible love and celebrating His love for us and our love for each other. I have some great ideas in mind for the coming years. But this year we had our first annual Self Family Valentine's Day Picnic at Joe's Farm Grill... hee hee. We cheated, but only a little bit! We still ate outside...

Isaac and I got to play around while Daddy waited in line and got the food.

Sporting Daddy's "gass"

Can you feel the love? Happy Valentine's Day!

A Random Collection ... Just Hangin' Out Pics

I was looking back at some pictures from the last couple of months, and I thought you'd enjoy seeing these... some of our favorites.

A natural? Look how he's holding that football!

Hmmmm, decisions, decisions...

Having fun with Papa... (and yes, Isaac is wearing one of my headbands. Haha...)

Out for a walk with Uncle Caleb

"Back it up - beep, beep, beep, beep!" Haha, we taught that to Isaac, and now when we say, "Back it up!" He'll back up and say, "Beep beep!"

Our little sous chef.

Cooking with Auntie Linda - making Northwest Mac-n-Cheese.

Thanks for my dapper apron, Auntie Karen! It's perfect.

A fun new pasttime - riding his "big guck!" down the hill.

So much fun! Like having an amusement park ride in our own back yard!

Hugs from Noni!

Isaac likes to wear his "gass" like Mommy.

Unusually warm early January day - perfect for coloring with chalk outside.

And I'll leave you with this one. Such a sweetheart smile! He melts my heart. *Sigh*

More Fun

Has it really been almost three months?? Wow. Well, I know by now this is old news, but it's fun to look back and reminisce. And in this case, we won't disappoint. Here's another fun thing we did with Linda, Brian, and Omi while they were here back in December....

A daytrip to Canyon Lake for a picnic...

...an unexpectedly chilly picnic, that is...

Even the hot sauce couldn't warm us up..

... and Linda got desperate.. er, I mean "creative."

"It's working as a wind blocker, you guys!!"

Brian and Linda

Isaac doing what boys do best... getting dirty.

What? I'm having fun down here... can't you see?

Despite the chill in the air, we had a fun time....

... and enjoyed a good show of old-fashioned sibling rivalry. I'm rooting for Linda!

Yeah, Linda, yeah!!!

You show him.

Sore loser.

After Canyon Lake we visited a replicated 1800's Gold Rush mining town.

Overlooking Superstition Mountains

Isaac enjoyed the horsies.

But the horses didn't reciprocate the excitement too well.

Our attempt at getting a cute family photo... well, close enough! That's a wrap!